Sunday, February 21, 2016

Sunday Comics #17: 1922 B.N. (Before Nancy)

I've been wanting to do a Nancy post for a while now but I didn't want it to be your standard Nancy post. Nancy has, in my opinion, become one of the greatest strips of all time. I think you could safely add Nancy to the eschelon of comic strips with Krazy Kat, Peanuts, Pogo, and Calvin and Hobbes. Everybody knows Nancy and Sluggo and the wacky, and oftentimes weird, adventures that they get into. But more than a decade before Nancy became the star and namesake of the feature, there was another--one who still appears to this day as Nancy's aunt and adoptive guardian. Fritzi Ritz.

Fritzi Ritz was your standard 1920s comic strip featuring flapper Fritzi Ritz created by Larry Whittington. Fritzi spent many years focused on men, clothes, and money. In 1933, Fritzi's niece Nancy came for a visit and never went home. In 1938, her friend Sluggo was introduced and the title of the strip was renamed shortly after.

A comic book page featuring Fritzi and her boyfriend, Phil Fumble. By Ernie Busmiller.